The Conservative party has always recognised the value of small businesses to both our economy and to local communities. In doing so, we’ve always aimed to have policies that help create a supportive environment for them to thrive, and wherever possible, remove barriers that hinders small businesses to flourish.
Small and medium businesses make up 99.9% of the 5.6 million businesses in the UK, employing almost 17 million people and contributing massively to the economy. Throughout challenging times this decade, our Conservative government has been helping small businesses succeed by cutting their businesses rates, cutting the cost of employing staff and keeping corporation tax low. They are also freeing up billions of pounds of Start Up Loans so new businesses are created every day.
By taking long-term decisions to support these businesses, local jobs are being supported and economic growth is secured to help fund public services.
Business rates for small businesses have been frozen for a fourth consecutive year. The small business multiplier has also been frozen yet again, saving an average shop £1,650, and the Retail Hospitality and Leisure Relief has been extended for a year.
The Conservatives have raised the employment allowance to £5,000 which delivers a £1,000 tax cut for small businesses and have also secured a lower rate of corporation tax for smaller businesses through the Small Profits Rate, meaning smaller businesses do not pay the same amount of tax as larger businesses.
With Covid and subsequent global high inflation and high energy costs, it has been a challenging time for small businesses, but we Conservatives at every level are determined to help them succeed.
Locally, with Small Business Saturday having just occurred last Saturday the 2nd of December, our Councillors have been supporting this event and will continue to support small businesses in our local communities throughout the year through our Shop Local Crawley campaign. We proactively aim to use at least two of our local businesses each week and encourage residents who don’t already, to aim to do so. We are also showcasing and promoting local neighbourhood businesses on our #ShopLocalCrawley Facebook page.
Councillor Duncan Crow, Leader of Crawley Borough Council Conservative Group
5th December 2023
